Time to head to Gonzaga Bay

Dock Totals Mar 4 – Mar 10: 1,253 anglers aboard 61 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 2 bluefin tuna, 176 yellowtail, 14 calico bass, 12 sand bass, 4,321 rockfish, 816 whitefish, 10 lingcod, 40 bonito, 4 halibut, 222 sculpin, 268 sanddab, 2 triggerfish, 52 sheephead, 97 bocaccio, and 27 spiny lobster.

Saltwater: Though there are pelagic species around — some bonito, yellowtail and even a couple of bluefin tuna, the local fleet has been working on rockfish. Reds, vermilions, sheephead, bocaccio (aka ‘salmon grouper), whitefish and sheephead. Most of the yellowtail and bonito came from the Coronado Islands on three-quarter day and overnight runs.

On the other side of the Baja peninsula in the upper Sea of Cortez the cabrilla fishing has been off the hook for the anglers pitching lures near the steep rocky edges the fish like to hold to. They will break off a lot of lures as they usually ambush their prey and duck back into the crevices and holes in the reef. It takes heavier line than normal bass fishing and a strong back to get the leopard grouper and flag cabrilla to the boat once they strike. Rapalas and spoons are better. If using plastic swimbaits or grubs in the Gulf of California, you better have a lot of them to spare.

Captain Juan Cook is working out of Gonzaga Bay for the next couple months and is a cabrilla guru of sorts. His phone number is 011-521-616-109-6877 from the US, or by email at: CaptainJuanSQ@hotmail.com

Fish Plants: 3/19 –Jennings, trout (1700), 3/21 – Dixon, trout (1500), Poway, trout (1500)